Occupying The Territory

A Taste of the Territory

Louise Sioui
February 16, 2011
Wendake

"I gather plants, and in the process, I’m re-energized."

Louise Sioui, Wendat

When we meet Louise Sioui, she offers us a glass of ati hahique yaoüen. This spruce water with wild berries doesn’t contain alcohol. It’s a delicate blend of mindfulness of the land, sophisticated knowledge of the forest’s wealth—passed along from one generation to another—and respect for each fruit that’s been picked from the earth. Its preparation is an act of gratitude, a tribute to this intimate and privileged relationship with nature that gives meaning to life.

Naming to Protect

Jean-Marc Niquay
March 30, 2011
Waswanipi

"We needed to investigate in order to revive this philosophy of the earth."

Jean-Marc Niquay, Nehirowisiw

In Indigenous cultures, things take long, and the struggles are long too. The exploitation of resources followed assimilation measures. Ernest Ottawa is an elder. He’s carried his people's demands for a very long time, but he’s tired. He passed the torch on to his collaborator, Jean-Marc Niquay, who’s convinced that affirmation requires a chance to speak, and who goes to meet his people and listens to them. He knows that to defend the right to occupy a territory, you must first name it and be able to express the profound experience it allows you to live. The territory is a physical and spiritual space. The fight must focus on these two aspects.

Transcript

Interview with Jean-Marc Niquay and Ernest Ottawa. A picture of them graces the sound of their voices.

Jean-Marc Niquay

I’ve mostly worked in the field. I didn't go into politics and everything, but I still had my ideas, as Ernest said earlier. Uh, the negotiations and all that stuff, it didn't work because we were... we didn't speak the same language. They saw it from a monetary side and we saw it more as our rights and… We didn't think about money. So, communication...It hit a wall, instead of...

Interviewer

Yeah...

Jean-Marc Niquay

Because, according to them, in their belief, for them, it's money, money, money. While for us, it’s our rights and, uh, the right to use our territories as we please, and not be chased away all the time, y’know. We make cuts here and, uh, all that. Uh... That’s where I evolved mostly. I worked for Ernest when he was... when he was chief, uh, negotiator. That's it, isn't it?

Ernest Ottawa

Yes!

Jean-Marc Niquay

I did the last part of the great work that had been started. It’s the intrinsic link between an individual and the territory. That’s what I worked on regarding the territories. And I did the three Atikamekw communities. I met with the elders and, uh, also the not... not so old, to understand... to find out what... what had remained of them regarding their territory, the knowledge and all that. That’s mostly what I worked on.

Interviewer

So, you did field work, met the elders and you asked them questions. But, what questions did you ask?

Jean-Marc Niquay

It was more, uh... to know what... what was the... what was their idea of their, uh, of... What could be between an individual and the territory. How one perceived the territory as well, uh… How one is attached to the territory. What made... What makes the territory so important to someone. It’s in that sense that I prodded, because I thought it was very important to know what relationship man has with his territory and how he, uh... how he uses it. And, uh, is... Because for many years, uh, we've lost a little bit of... the... uh, spiritual relationship we had with the territory. It's one of the things that, uh... that, uh... There hasn't been much talk about this over the years. The mentality has changed quite a bit since one thousand eight hundred years, because of the materialism that has taken root and all that. And we had to go looking for it to ... to revive it, let’s say. This philosophy of a relationship with the earth. That’s what I understood though developing this idea, this approach, of retrieving information. What still remains regarding man's philosophy towards his territory, the importance that it holds. It's, it's more in that sense that I worked. I didn't explore politics very much, but I still... I still heard about it [...] and, uh, I thought it was a process that would support a lot of our, our claims and all. Because it's still, uh... it's still, uh, important to know... to know, how do I say, uh... to know how to respond to... and to know how to give to these... to non-Indigenous people, so that they know that it's important to us, y’know, uh, the territory and all. I worked more along this perspective to get information, and uh, it was really a very rewarding job for me. For a... I’m someone who has lost a lot of his culture because of residential schools and all that. And doing this job has given me a lot of it back, working with the elders, and, uh.... Well, I thought to myself, “What does knowing this give me?” It's a wealth, and I'm going to be able to show them, the importance of this territory and why we're struggling like hell to know our rights and all that. This is our territory.

Regaining Freedom

Maggie Etapp
June 15, 2011
Manawan

"I've been waiting five years to get a camp. "

Maggie Etapp, Eeyou

For a long time, the territory was open and people moved around freely, respecting places and people. Then, it gradually sealed itself up. Industrial exploitation and rapid changes in their way of life have kept Indigenous people away from the forest. Access to the territory is restricted. For members of the Waswanipi community, the camps, which are a promise of tranquility, are extremely difficult to obtain, as Maggie Etapp testifies. The path back to their roots is full of obstacles. There are many portages, but the effort is worth it. This is the way to regaining freedom.

Report of an interview with Louise Sioui.

Because you said you had tasted a drink, it’s: ati hahique yaoüen . It means “spruce water with wild berries”, but it means the water of all the plants, of all the fruit that go into the drink.

[…]

Because, when people say “Oh! What’s this?”, I always explain. This drink is never taken with alcohol. Never, never. I even tell them, “If you're going to put alcohol in it, I'm not selling it to you.” Because you can't spoil what it is. It’s the whole year.

It starts at the beginning of the year. It gives me the opportunity to gather the plants, to wander around, and to get inspiration... Throughout each year, with the different cultural and traditional activities. We occupy the territory, we live out each day. Some plants can only be picked in the fall, but if you haven't seen them during the year; where they were at the beginning, their development, well, you can't gather them, y’know?

We start with maple water. Everything is added slowly, the addition of other fruit, other plants.

[…]

There’s a continuity, it’s done on a daily basis. It helps us to recover, to make contact too. Life is crazy, y’know, life is fast! And we work, and we work, and we work... We make everyone dizzy and we dizzy ourselves as well.

[…]

Ati hahique yaoüen, […] Well, it's water. […] Indigenous languages are always very colourful. Because, when I say, spruce water, it’s because I took spruce. But it’s water from that tree but also from others. Because more than one of them gives us its water.

Plants, trees, they give us their water so that we can live, feed our own tree. It’s the cycle of life. Because things are added throughout. Whether it be the time for strawberries, the time for blueberries, the time for such a plant, such a thing, the time for apples, the time for things...

But, all things take their course. Every season, we need certain vitamins, certain trace elements. We share them, y’know. In a way, we give them, we thank them. But it's a process. It's a year-round process.

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Report of an interview with Maggie Etapp

We’re still on a waiting list to have a camp in the woods. Every year, they give out cards. We're still on the waiting list... But my in-laws have one. My husband's aunt has one. Other family members have them. So, we go to their territory to hunt.

[…]

Since we have our four-wheeler, we leave every weekend. We go hunting. We wander around, we get some air, spend time with the family.... with his aunt. His aunt, she lives in the woods all the time. So, we go visit her. She’s often alone. I think that when she was younger, it was all in the woods. And when she got married, it was still in the woods. Then, the community was built. She came to live here for a few years. She worked a few years. Her husband came to work. When they retired, they went back to the woods. I know many older couples, elders, who live in the woods.

[…]

The young people, they work. There are a few who work, who still live in the woods, a few families. But me, I don't want to wait for my retirement! I'm just waiting for my camp. The cottage, that’s all I’m waiting for.

We made our first request, I think it's been five years since.... We wrote another letter last year, last fall, but we don't have an answer yet.

Regaining Freedom

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